Local elections 2023: Green strategy of targeting rural Tories pays off

The Green Party is making strong gains in the English local elections as they take seats in traditional Tory areas.

In Mid Suffolk, the party is aiming to win control of a council for the first time at an election.

The Tory leader of Mid Suffolk District Council Suzie Morley has already lost her seat to Green Nick Hardingham, with counting still underway.

The Greens have gained 16 seats in East Herts and are one short of overtaking the Tories as the largest party.

The party has also taken seats from Labour in some of its strongholds.

Green co-leader Carla Denyer said her party were benefitting from "a deep dislike of the Tories and Starmer's uninspiring Labour".

Ms Denyer and co-leader Adrian Ramsay had talked up their party's prospects ahead of polling day, predicting gains of 100 seats.

This seems well within their reach, with the majority of results still to come. The party has made more than 40 early gains.

The Greens are building on their strong performance in 2019, the last time these seats were contested, when they gained 194 seats.

The party had about 540 councillors before voting began on Thursday.

The Greens have traditionally performed best in urban areas, such as Brighton and Bristol, but the party also concentrated its campaigning firepower on rural, traditional Tory areas at these elections.

In Mid Suffolk, where the final result is expected later on Friday, the party has had a presence on the council for 20 years and were the only non-Conservative option on the ballot paper in more than a third of the seats up for election.

They had campaigned hard on local issues, including opposing plans for a big new housing development.

Defeated Mid Suffolk Tory leader Suzie Morley said her party had lost its reputation for economic competence because of "what happened before Christmas".

"The last six months have left a nasty taste in a lot of people's mouths," she added.

In February, Ms Denyer told the BBC the growth of climate change as a political issue is "definitely a factor" in the Green Party's recent success at the ballot.

"But I think that it's also true that people get a Green councillor in their local area and they like what they see," she added.

Analysis of key ward results by elections expert Sir John Curtice would appear to bear this out.

The party's vote has increased in wards where they performed best in 2019, suggesting they have an ability to concentrate their vote in certain areas, which is needed for success at general elections.